What is EFTPOS?
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 16 Oct 2026
Definition
EFTPOS is the system a business uses to take card payments at the counter through a payment terminal, often supplied by its payment provider. The provider then pays the money into the business's bank account in settlements. In lower case, eftpos is also the name of one of the card networks the Reserve Bank of Australia regulates.
Card payments taken on the terminal don't reach the bank one at a time. The provider pays them into the business's account as settlements, often one deposit for a day's card sales, and that deposit can differ from the day's sales because of refunds put through the terminal, sales that fall after a settlement cut-off where the provider uses one and, with some providers, fees taken out before the money is paid. The terminal's end-of-day report and the provider's statement show what makes up each deposit.
For the books, the starting point is the day's card sales from the terminal or till report, not the bank deposit. Recording sales from that report, then matching each settlement to it in the bank reconciliation, keeps the takings complete and leaves any gap to be explained by refunds, timing or merchant fees instead of being buried in one net figure.
In Australia
business.gov.au says card payments can be processed online or on a physical EFTPOS terminal, and notes that EFTPOS and other electronic payment systems need electricity and an internet connection: some can work offline, while others may be unavailable if the systems go down. Among the costs to check when choosing how to take payments, it lists the service fees EFTPOS and credit card providers often charge and the charge a bank may make for each transaction.
The RBA lists eftpos among the card networks it regulates, alongside Mastercard and Visa, covering eftpos debit and prepaid cards. Under the ACCC's guidance on card surcharges, eftpos cards are among the cards a business can no longer add a card payment surcharge to from 1 October 2026, along with Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards. Fees or surcharges that don't depend on how the customer pays are outside that change.
Worked example
| Item | Amount (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Card sales on the terminal's end-of-day report | 2,140.00 |
| Less: refund put through the terminal | 60.00 |
| Add: previous day's sales made after the cut-off time | 310.00 |
| Less: today's sales made after the cut-off time | 185.00 |
| Expected settlement | 2,205.00 |
| Settlement deposit on the bank statement | 2,205.00 |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
Common mistakes
- Recording each settlement deposit as that day's sales, so refunds, fees and sales split across settlements disappear into one figure.
- Entering card takings from the terminal report and again from the bank deposit, which counts the same sales twice.
- Leaving the provider's statement unchecked, so fees it bills separately never reach the books.
- Assuming a missing settlement will turn up later instead of asking the provider about it.
Related terms
Related service
Bank reconciliations
Each bank, card and loan account reconciled to its statement.
Sources
- Choose payment methods
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 18 December 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging, Conclusions Paper: Glossary of Key Terms
Reserve Bank of Australia. Conclusions Paper, March 2026, released 31 March 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia 2026 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Card surcharges
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Current at 2 October 2026, released 2 October 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.
Source: Based on ACCC data or other content Licence: CC BY 4.0.